KINGSVILLE (November 17, 2022) — The Texas A&M System Board of Regents approved the formation of the Mexican American Studies Institute (MASI) at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. MASI will be under the direction of Dr. Alberto Rodriguez, associate professor of history.
“The Mexican American Studies Institute was established to honor and showcase the legacy of Mexican Americans in the Coastal Bend, South Texas and the Borderlands areas,” Rodriguez said. “At the center of the Mexican American Studies Institute are Texas A&M-Kingsville students, staff and faculty who will teach, research and analyze the experiences and histories of peoples of Mexican origin.”
As an institute, students, staff, faculty and community members who are catalysts of cultural practices, will be engaged to expand the historical and contemporary knowledge of Mexican American activism in the Texas-Mexican borderlands, he added.
“MASI is part of our university’s designation as a Hispanic-Serving Institution that supports our students and provides them with academic spaces for learning about their history and culture. The institute shares this with the broader community to provide an enriching environment for all,” Rodriguez said.
The institute will provide continuing education on the plights, struggles and achievements of Mexican American people and will reveal how our students can improve the future of their communities. “These conversations will recognize and honor indigenous and Mexican ancestries. Students will lead actions and conversations on the legacies of Mexican-origin people and their contribution to the Coastal Bend and South Texas.”
“MASI also will provide a safe space for our Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) students that attend Texas A&M-Kingsville. The institute empowers our students and generates a vested interest in our university by showing them how to take what they have learned in the space and create positive change in their communities,” Rodriguez said.
In addition to Rodriguez, MASI will be led by an advisory board that will meet once a year. Members of the advisory board are Michael A. “Mike” Hernandez III, CEO of D&M Leasing and the A&M System Board of Regents; Dr. Emilio Zamora, George W. Littlefield Professorship in American History at University of Texas at Austin; Homero Vera, director of the Kenedy Ranch Museum of South Texas; Alvaro (Al) Hinojosa, vice president of Holt Cat; Lizette Gonzales, research and graduate studies proposal administrator; and Jill Woodall, special assistant to the president at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. All except Hernandez and Woodall are alumni of Texas A&M-Kingsville.
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